


it had to be you

by marveyrosster



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Flirting, Humor, I will add more tags as the story continues, M/M, Road Trips, The Losers Club (IT) - Freeform, as well as more fluff/sexual tension/flirting, but just know, there will be more bickering in future chapters, two dopes singing off key to 80's jams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 02:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marveyrosster/pseuds/marveyrosster
Summary: Of the many risks Eddie had totaled up about this arrangement (and there were many, many risks) the idea of not having to pay for gas and having someone to drive in shifts with from Chicago all the way to New York sounded like a good idea.Or it had at the time, anyway. Eddie glowered at the back of the boy’s head and laid on the horn to get his attention. His future ‘road trip buddy’ turned his head to glance back at Eddie, a mischievous smile stretching across his face. His eyes were bright with humor behind his dark rimmed glasses, dark messy hair sticking up where it had been mussed by his make out partner’s eager hands just moments ago. He stuck his tongue out playfully and Eddie’s brow furrowed in irritation, though he felt his heart do a weird little flippy thing in response. It was just nerves he reasoned with himself.Or the When Harry Met Sally AU nobody asked for.





	it had to be you

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from *that* song from the movie during *that* scene.
> 
> anyways when harry met sally is like... my favorite rom com i'm pretty sure? so here we gooooo.
> 
> more notes at the end.

**chapter one:** _we can make love not war_

It had maybe been 5 minutes, but to Eddie Kaspbrak it felt like a whole hour had gone by while he was waiting for his road trip companion to finish making out with his boyfriend so they could get the fuck on the road. While carpooling to New York had seemed like a good way to save money in theory, he was really starting to regret answering that ad in the school’s paper. 

_ WANTED: CHILL ROAD TRIP BUDDY WHO WILL TAKE MY ASS TO NEW YORK. MUST LAUGH AT MY JOKES, MUST SING ALONG TO ROAD TRIP MIX, MUST HAVE A CAR (I WILL PAY FOR GAS WITH MY SHARP WIT. JUST KIDDING, I DO HAVE $ AND AM DESPERATE). _

Of the many risks Eddie had totaled up about this arrangement (and there were many, many risks) the idea of not having to pay for gas and having someone to drive in shifts with from Chicago all the way to New York sounded like a good idea.

Or it had at the time, anyway. Eddie glowered at the back of the boy’s head and laid on the horn to get his attention. His future ‘road trip buddy’ turned his head to glance back at Eddie, a mischievous smile stretching across his face. His eyes were bright with humor behind his dark rimmed glasses, dark messy hair sticking up where it had been mussed by his make out partner’s eager hands just moments ago. He stuck his tongue out playfully and Eddie’s brow furrowed in irritation, though he felt his heart do a weird little flippy thing in response. It was just nerves he reasoned with himself.

“Keep your shirt on!” the boy called out over his shoulder before dramatically dipping his boyfriend in front of the car, planting a big wet kiss on his lips, eliciting a few whoops and hollers from passersby. 

Eddie honked again, several short irritated bursts of noise. He watched as the two men separated with a smile and a quick hug before parting ways for the summer. Two seconds later a face was poking through the passenger side window, flushed and excited. “You must be Eduardo,” he grinned as he offered an outstretched hand through the open window. “Richie Trashmouth Tozier, your new best friend and riding partner. 

Eddie took Richie’s hand reluctantly and gave it a firm shake. “My name’s Eddie Kaspbrak,” he said, not too thrilled about either nickname. 

“Well, Eddie Spaghetti,” he replied, clearly enjoying this far too much, “think you can give me a hand with my bags?”

Eddie unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, rounding the car to pop the trunk and help Richie load his things in the back. 

“Jesus,” Richie commented, eyeing the number of large suitcases already packed into the back of the car. “How much stuff do you have? You’d better be good at Tetris cause this is gonna be a bit of a tight fit.”

“We’re going to _ New York, _not taking a day trip to the goddamn beach,” Eddie grumbled irritably, unloading his own luggage so he can best figure out how to make all their bags fit. “Do you know how much can go wrong on a 13 hour car ride?” Richie raised an eyebrow like, no, he didn’t know and Eddie sighed. “A lot, a whole fucking lot can go wrong for your information. You’ve gotta be prepared for anything. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’m planning on staying in New York once we get there. This is my whole life packed into this car.”

Richie looks down at his two bags. “Shit, I must have a pretty sad life, huh?” He’s grinning. “Oh well,” he shrugs. “Plenty of time to have a more exciting one in New York.”

Once Eddie had carefully packed everything into the car so that it all fit (Just barely. He wouldn’t admit it to Richie, but he_ was _pretty good at Tetris, thank you very fucking much) they were off. It didn’t take long at all for Richie to strike up a conversation, even after Eddie had turned the volume up on the radio in a failed attempt to silence him.

“So headed to New York.” His feet were on the dashboard, much to Eddie’s disgust, and he was busy snacking on a bag of pretzels he’d pulled from his backpack. “You said you’re planning on staying there. You gotta job out there waiting for you?”

“I got an internship shortly before graduation,” Eddie replied, taking his eyes off the road momentarily to frown at the crumbs littering Richie’s Hawaiian shirt. “For a rather prestigious firm just outside of the city.”

“Ooooh fancy corporate job, eh?” Richie popped another pretzel in his mouth, adjusting slightly in his seat causes crumbs to rain down all over the seat. “What kind of work you gonna be doing in the Big Apple?” 

“Can you- Can you be careful with those?” Eddie asked irritably, eyes scanning the center console where he thought he had kept some Wet Ones. “You’re making a mess.”

Richie blinked. He straightened in his seat and glanced down at his shirt, still dusted with crumbs. “Oh how rude of me,” he gasped dramatically. “Here let me clean myself up.” He dusted his shirt off, crumbs flying everywhere. Eddie gritted his teeth, lips forming a hard line.

“If you must know,” he continued, having given up on his search for the Wet Ones that must have been misplaced during the great game of Tetris in the back seat, “I’m going to be a Risk Analyst.”

“A what?”

“Someone who determines the risk associated with certain business decisions regarding-” 

Eddie was cut off by the sound or Richie loudly snoring beside him. He elbowed the other angrily, rousing him from his pretend sleep and getting a laugh out of Richie when his elbow made contact with his ribs. 

“Fine then, why are you headed to New York for, Mr. Interesting?” Eddie glared.

“LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIIIGHT!” Richie shouted in his best impression of a tv show announcer.

“Saturday Night Live?” Eddie asked incredulously. “You want to be a comedian?” 

“Don’t sound so surprised, Eddie Spaghetti. I am utterly hilarious,” he said, doing another voice that made the corner of Eddie’s lips turn upwards, though he tried to fight off his amusement. “I spent a lot of time a Second City during college and I think I’ve got a good shot at getting on the show.” He relaxed into his seat, a picture of perfect confidence. Eddie thought he’d like to be that confident about his future. 

“Do you have an audition?” Eddie asked curiously. Even the idea of getting up in front of people and trying to get them to laugh was enough to make Eddie instinctively reach for his inhaler.

“Not yet. But I met some people at Second City who live in the city who are gonna help me get one.” Richie didn’t seem too bothered about it. “Don’t worry,” he said then. “When I win my Emmy I’ll make sure to thank you in my acceptance speech.” He clutched an imaginary award to his chest. “And to Eddie Kaspbrak, for driving me all the way out to the big city so that I could achieve my dream by becoming the funniest human being on the face of the fucking planet. Couldn’t have done it without yah!” 

“It’s the least you could do,” Eddie grinned, shaking his head as Richie continued to ham it up for his imaginary audience who were giving him a standing ovation.

“You like me, you really like me!”

\---

Somewhere between Ohio and Pennsylvania they pulled off to stop and get a bite to eat. Despite Richie’s protest, Eddie had been driving the entire time so far. He had assured him he felt safer that way. 

“Okay but after we eat, _ I’m _ driving,” he insisted. “Here, sign says there’s a diner just up here on the left.”

It was late and the diner was quiet. There were two or three other pairs of people scattered around the otherwise empty dining area. Richie picked a booth and slid into his seat, picking up the menu and flipping through it, examining their options. “I tell you what, I’ve got a hankering for some flapjacks.”

Eddie slid into the booth across from them, rubbing at his tired eyes as he glanced down at the menu in front of him. The drive was weighing on him and he was secretly grateful that Richie would be taking over for awhile. “Better order some coffee,” he suggested. “If you fall asleep behind the wheel, I’ll kill you.”

“Not if I get us both killed first.” At Eddie’s glare he laughs, lifted his hands in an act of apology. “Only teasing, of course.”

“You know for a comedian, you’re really not that funny,” Eddie responds dryly, picking up the menu to examine their specials a little closer. 

“Ouch Eds, that cuts me to my core,” he teased, hand over his heart as he wiped away a fake tear.

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped as he propped the menu upright on the table so he couldn’t see Richie’s face.

“Really not a nicknames guy, huh? S’okay, we’ll land on one you like before the car ride is over.” He glances at his watch. “Only have… what, 6 more hours to figure it out?”

Eddie groaned, dropping the menu and letting it hit the table with a light _ smack. _ “God, I hope it’s not that much longer.”

“You look kinda cute when you’re all tired and stuff,” Richie said then. Eddie hadn’t noticed before, his face hidden by the menu, but he could know see that Richie had his elbows on the table, chin in his hands, leaning in and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. And he had this _ look _in his eye that frustrated Eddie when he couldn’t place it.

“Oh fuck off,” Eddie grumbled, though he didn’t break eye contact. Couldn’t for some reason. “I know I probably look like a mess but I’ve been driving for like, 5 hours so don’t start with the-”

“Woah calm down there, Eds, it’s a compliment,” Richie chuckled, reaching across the table to fix Eddie’s hair which is rather infuriatingly hanging in his eyes for_ some _reason. Eddie swatted his hand away and tried to fix his own hair without much success. He sighed in defeat and opts for sitting on his hands instead in an attempt to stop fidgeting with his unkempt locks. 

“Being a little generous with the compliments after you practically sucked all the air out of your boyfriend’s lungs this afternoon,” Eddie shot back.

Richie’s brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to understand what Eddie could possibly be referring to which got an eye roll in return. “Steven?” Richie asked. “Oh, he's not my boyfriend,” he said with an easy shrug. “But even if he was, that doesn;t make you any less cute,” he grinned playfully, reaching across the table again to pinch Eddie’s cheek.

Eddie cursed and he shifted his weight to free his hands from under him, swatting at Richie’s hand away again. “Didn’t look that way. He seemed pretty into you.” Eddie rubbed his cheek absently, eyeing RIchie cautiously from across the table. If he tried to touch him again he’d be ready this time. 

“They all are, Eds, they allll aaaaare,” Richie grinned as he leaned back in the booth and crossed his arms over his chest. _ Cocky bastard, _Eddie thought to himself. What did these men see in him anyway? Richie was tall, sure, but he was also lanky and all limbs. Eddie was pretty sure that if he were to hug the man he’d feel like nothing but a bag of bones. Not to mention his glasses which were too big for his already big head or his dark messy hair that looked like it could use with a good wash. And yet when he flashed Eddie that shit eating grin, something twisted in his gut and his palms began to sweat. 

Eddie blinked, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it as the waitress approached.

“What can I get you two gentleman?” she asked, pad and pen in hand.

They ordered, Eddie making sure they both got some coffee (extra creamer for his, Richie said he liked his black) and a new set of silverware for the both of them. The waitress quirked an eyebrow at his request but just shrugged, headed back to the kitchen to put in there order.

“Kind of a neat freak aren’t you?” Richie said then, carefully removing his straw wrapper so that he only tore open one end.

“Is it so wrong to want things to be clean and orderly?” Eddie asked. In response, Richie blew air through his straw, the wrapper flying off and hitting Eddie in the face. Eddie glowered. “Sorry, forgot who I was talking to.”

“You don’t really like me all that much do you?” Richie asked. This didn’t seem to bother him that much. He was fucking smiling, the bastard. “We have time to fix that too,” he said resolutely, nodding to himself. “By the time we get to New York, you’ll be wishing for another 12 hours in a care with yours truly.” He placed a hand on his chest and fluttered his eyelashes playfully at Eddie who scoffed in response.

“We’ll see about that.” Now Eddie was crossing his arms.

“Okay then, Eds Spagheds,” Richie leaned in, sounding somewhat serious now. “We’ve got another 6 or so hours left of this trip and I’m perfectly okay with the way things are going. However, I think you’d have a much more enjoyable trip if you unclenched for two seconds and told me what’s up so we can continue on our merry way and maybe even have a laugh or two.”

Eddie blinked. He wasn’t expecting this. He opened his mouth and closed it again, not sure how to respond. “You want to know what it is I don’t like about you, Richie Tozier? I think you’re obnoxious, messy, attention seeking, with a mouth far too fast for your own brain. Also I think you’re an unabashed flirt who doesn’t know when to take a fucking hint and lay off.”

Richie blinked. “Okay then. Is that all you wanted to say?”

His face was infuriatingly expressionless. Eddie wished he could get a read on it. He felt like he had been waiting the whole fucking trip to really lay into him but know that he had…. It didn’t feel satisfying. It felt kind of shitty and Eddie regretted it almost immediately.

“Uh, yeah, that’s um. It.” 

“Alright, cool,” Rishie replied, back to his normal self, a lazy grin stretching it’s way across his face just as the waitress approached them with their meal. “Now we can get on with this trip.”

\---

As Richie drove, Eddie relaxed a little. Though he’d felt guilty about the things he had said earlier, true as they might have been, it had felt good to release the tension that had been building in his chest anytime Richie did something mildly irritating. He was able to enjoy the rest of the trip, the two of them talking occasionally about school and their futures and their favorite movies and tv shows. 

Richie really liked the classics. He was a big film buff and he confessed that his favorite channel was the Turner Classic Movies channel which Eddie though was suuuuuper dorky but in a sort of charming way. 

“Hey will you reach into my bag and pull out the cd in there? It should be right on top.” Eddie looked at him suspiciously but did as he was asked, inserting the cd, careful not to make any smudges on the back with his fingers. 

The first notes of Erasure’s A Little Respect began to fill the car and Richie excitedly drummed on the steering wheel as he cranked the volume up and rolled down the window. Eddie stared as Richie sang loudly through the first verse, a huge smile plastered on his goofy face. Before he launched into the chorus he turned to Eddie who quickly looked away. 

“You read the flyer didn’t you, Eds? Must sing along to road trip mix! I’ll give you a pass on the whole laughing at my jokes thing but this is an absolute MUST!” He danced in his seat, swaying back and forth in his place, his shoulders bouncing as he continued singing.

Under normal circumstances, Eddie NEVER would have sang. But it was nearly 2am and they were on the open road and they still had like 4 hours left and it was _ Richie _and Eddie just didn’t give a fuck anymore.

“I’m so in love with yoooooooou! I’ll be forever bluuuuuuuue!” he sang loudly, not caring how his voice sounded.

“That you give me no reason why you’re making me work so hard!” Richie sang back, his already big smile somehow widening further. 

“That you give me no, that you give me no, that you give me no, that you give me no-”

“-SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUL,” they both sang together, throwing their heads back and laughing hard belly laughs as the song continued. Eddie laughed until his sides hurt, wiping the tears from his eyes, the wind coming in from the windows stinging his face but he didn’t care.

Richie stuck his head out the window and shouted excitedly against the night air, Eddie’s heart pounding in his chest as he sat back and reveled in the joy of it all. He felt light, unencumbered by school, by his mother, by his suffocating fear of germs. Eddie felt _ free. _

\--

“This is it, right?” Eddie asked, pulling up in front of a large brick apartment building. 

_ “ _Indeed,” Richie hummed, staring up at what would be his new home for the next however long. “Well wish me luck,” he grinned, leaning in and giving Eddie a big wet kiss on the cheek.

“Ugh, gross!” Eddie scrubbed at his cheek as Richie smirked and climbed out of the car to retrieve the rest of the things from the trunk. Eddie got out to help him, taking his time as he rounded the car. His stomach was in knots, and he was realizing, much to his chagrin, that Richie had been right. A lot had changed in the last 6 or so hours and the way Eddie felt about Richie was one of them. Though he’d _ never _ admit that.

“Come here you,” Richie grinned, pulling Eddie into an easy hug. Eddie realized then that he’d been wrong about something else as well. Hugging Richie was much nicer than hugging a bag of bones. If Richie lingered a little too long, Eddie wasn’t complaining. 

“I’ll be sure to look you up,” Richie promised as he pulls away. “I mean it isn’t as if we don’t live in the same city.”

Eddie grinned and nodded, though that panicky part of his brain is too busy totaling up how many people live in New York City whose paths he’ll probably never cross. “You do that,” he said.

“Adios Eduardo!” Richie called from the doorstep one Eddie is safely back in the car. He blew Eddie a kiss and winked teasingly which still somehow manages to make Eddie’s cheeks turn a soft shade of pink. 

“See you around,” he called back with a small wave before driving off in the direction if his new apartment.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this was my first EVER reddie fic so be kind and constructive ty.
> 
> these two dopes are soul mates okay. i promise more bickering and general reddie goodness in later chapters. we gotta build up the relationship first ;)


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